Dark Skies
by Enchiridion88
Summary: Everything is just business as usual: find the chaos emeralds, save the world, and go really fast in the process. However, when Sonic is out of the picture and a mysterious, yet oddly familiar villain emerges, will Tails have what it takes or will the world as they know it come to an end? Cover by Dexter01992 on DA. (Needs renamed)
1. Prologue

**::Only the beginning has this type of style/layout, this is one time use. After this chapter, the story will be written normally::**

This game is loosely based off the PS2 game _Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (in Europe)_. There are some similiarities into how this story is broken up and the manner in which some arcs conclude. However, this is not "The story of Dark Cloud 2 but with Tails as the lead instead." This is an independent story that takes into account the characters and background of the Sonic series.

However, the soundtrack is to die for. If you know me, I sometimes have a song that goes along with a chapter or event (never in songfic fashion, just something for the audience to listen as they read). Usually no one does but this could be the exception. **Especially since all the songs for this story will be from the _Dark Cloud 2_ soundtrack (and from the premium arrange version once or twice).** You will not have to look very far. You don't have to play it, but I highly, highly recommend it for this story.

Following my past format...

When you see "::" play "The Dark Battle (02)" (The "02" is the song order in the soundtrack itself)

For ";;" play "Premonition of Something Going to Happen (04)"

For "{}" play "Palm Brinks (11)"

For "[]" play "Giant Looming Shadow (68)"

I'd just like to point out that I am still new to Sonic. Anything I get wrong in terms of Lore or story, please let me know.

 **Special thanks to _Miles Depth and radredknuxfan_ and to _Dexter01992_ and _Sonikkufan94_ on DeviantArt for helping me out with this.**

Enjoy.

* * *

Darkness.

Then a vibrato of noise erupts as thin, silver towers slowly zoom across the television and disappear quickly.

The Playstation 2 logo emerges quickly with a _vwoowb_ then fades back to the standard black screen.

 _Reading Memory Card Ports (PS2)_

The disclaimer, " _Sonic is the property of Sega, all characters belong to their rightful owners,"_ sits on the screen before fading after a few seconds.

 _GearSolidSnake presents..._

Just then, the song " _Demon Dark Cloud (74)_ " begins to play as the introductory preview starts. The screen slowly fades to a dark purple. White clouds billow across the quickly moving camera as lightning cracks in the background. Then the shot changes to moving through a dense forest covered in shadows. Then to the crest of boiling volcano. Finally settling on a slow zoom of Station Square. Just as the crescendo starts, the trademark two-tailed fox turns to face the camera, smirks, and gives an assuring thumbs up.

 ** _Dark Adventure_**

The title screen hangs over an ancient mural. Soon, the mural fades to an image of Tails holding his wrench and with determination in his eyes. The prominent logo, however, remains the same. With the bouncy theme music and having not pressed _start_ yet, the background continues more of the intro. There is Tails running alongside enormous, graphics highlighting cliff faces. It cuts to him in the lower fathoms of a volcano battling one of the game's many monsters. Then it cuts to the usual foray: Sonic smirking and running fast, a muted Tails talking to a character off screen, Dr. Eggman in some convoluted machine giving a passionate monologue, Knuckles as playable character pounding through blatantly marked stones and rocks, Amy ready with her hammer, Tails standing awestruck in a forest illuminated by what look like blue fireflies, an ominous flying airship approaching, and a slew of spectacular environments and events yet to be revealed.

Finally, the _start_ button is pressed.

...

[New Game]

 **[Continue]**

[Extras]

[Credits]

...

The opening menu quickly fades to a gold, ornately outlined text box reading _Checking Memory Card Ports (PS2)._ The background is orange with darker colored, abstract patterns moving across the screen. The music changes to _"Menu (17)."_

 **::SELECT MEMORY CARD::**

 **[Memory Card 1]**...[Memory Card 2]

...

 **::SELECT MEMORY SLOT::**

 **Slot 1 [Chapter 7, Story 4. 18:45]**

Slot 2 [Empty]

Slot 3 [Empty]

...

Congratulations! You've unlocked the final storyline, _"Tails"_!

...

Once that is taken care of, the menu changes to story selection. With each option, a screenshot of the selected character is shown on the right half of the screen.

 **::SELECT A STORYLINE::**

[ _Boom_ Tails]

[ _Saturday AM_ Tails]

[ _Sonic X_ Tails]

[ _Archie Comics_ Tails]

 **[Tails (!)]**

...

With the selection made and everything ready, a blue loading bar slowly fills up the bottom of the screen as the _Dark Adventure_ title hangs in the corner.

* * *

::

Frightened shadows strike against dark castle walls. The loud footsteps thunder down the grand halls lined with ornate paintings and decorative armor.

A short figure shrouded in a dark blue cloak sprints through the winding and twisting labyrinth. His face is soaked with tears and sweat. Glowing red embers shine through the windows and illuminate his path. He does not dare look outside.

He slides his feet to a halt and rounds the corner, heading further into the castle. Not long after he does, two soldiers make their way down the same path. Inhumanly thin and intimidatingly tall, they are covered in black and red armor. They make no sound.

The mysterious mobian does not need to look over his shoulder to know they're there. _"I need the emeralds. I can fix all of this if I can find my emeralds,_ " he nervously reassures himself.

 _Crash_

One more leaps through the glass window in front of him. The soldier leaps through the air, lunging at his target. Without slowing down, the cloaked figure slides on his back under the arc of the airborne soldier and quickly catches the ground underneath his feet.

He wishes this was over. Part of him just wants to stop running. But his subconscious drives him. The emeralds are on the complete other side of the castle, yet he separates himself even further.

Down the hall stands two large oak doors thrown open. A feeling of dread washes over him. His legs move on their own as his body goes numb. "Please tell me they're not in there!" he screams aloud.

He comes to a dead stop once he looks inside.

His eyes go dead and his fists clench.

The three guards close in.

 _"I'll make them wish they never came here, that they never even existed..."_

* * *

 _It's been a long time...It feels like forever ago since I wrote to you. Well, I guess it's never too late to try again._

 _How are you?_

 _I'm doing fine._

 _So much has happened that I don't know where to start! Well, its probably easier to just start at the beginning..._

* * *

;;

Tails awoke groggily from his weird nightmare. His forehead was covered in sweat and his elbow is numb from falling asleep in such an awkward position. He sat up in the high chair from his workbench. The metal parts and tools were strewn around from him falling asleep.

He groaned, "Aww, not again!" The eleven year old fox shook his head at the mess before him. The headlamp was still on and wasting electricity. He shut it off and mentally kicked himself for staying up so late. "Come on, Tails, what's the matter with you?"

He yawned and stretched his arms out. "Okay, okay, let's just see what we got here," he said as he pulled out a large crescent wrench and twirled it in his hand. On his desk was a small generator. Oh great, that's right. Ray had been bugging him about some "secret project" or something. " _He doesn't even know the first thing about automation! Where's the carborator? Where's the intake valve? Half these parts don't even match!"_

He sighed, "I'm gonna have to be at this for hours."

On the bright side though, this seemed like an actual challenge. Everything had been going so easily lately. All Tails ever bothered with was repairing the _Tornado_ and replacing whatever gadgets they used. Everything was a routine nowadays. Sonic _always_ came out on top, Eggman _always_ lost, and Tails, well, he just watched Sonic from a distance. Somehow, a life of constantly saving the world and fighting one of the world's most brilliant villains became...boring...

 _"Well, this isn't necessarily a super cool space amusement park, but hey. It's something._ "

Just as Tails was beginning to work, the doorbell rang throughout the house. Then again, and again, and again as the button was mashed relentlessly. "Tails, Tails, Tails, Tails!" came from the other side of the door. The unceasing yammering for the poor fox went on over and over and over and over. The fox prepared for the worst and opened his front door. Ray the squirrel was on the other side eagerly jumping up and down. "Is it done? Is it ready? I can't wait to see it! Where is it? Can I take a peak-"

"Yeah yeah, I'm working on it. But I'm going to need more time. Ray, I don't know how to say this, but I have no idea what you tried to do with that engine, but-"

"No, no, no! You're looking at it all wrong! It's not an 'engine,' it's a cosmic omniduex elite hyper capacitor 9000!"

Tails stood dumbfounded, "That's not even a real thing. That's just a bunch of words thrown together that sound cool!"

"No wonder you couldn't get it right, you don't even know what it is."

"Sure, that's it."

"Anyway, I knew I'd find you here! Everyone was asking about you."

"Everyone...? What do you mean?" Then the synapses clicked together. Tails's face fell when he remembered.

"But I appreciate you willing to miss the ceremony just to fix my cosmic omniduex-"

"Sorry, Ray, I gotta go!" Tails stated quickly. At once, he took off as fast his tails could carry him. Of all the days he had to sleep in, it had to be today!

"Hey, hey! What about my cosmic omniduex capacitor?!" Ray shouted, wafting away the dust kicked up near his face by the scurrying fox.

"I'll get to it later!"

Ray shook his head, "Jeez, how is that guy always in more of a hurry than Sonic is?"

The two tailed fox barreled through the small woods. The large town of Station Square was far down the shallow hill, easily another half a mile away. _"Oh man, what'll everyone think? I'll never hear the end of it!"_

Distracted by his thoughts, he hardly looked at where he was going. He failed to notice a certain international spy walking straight towards him. _"Where_ did _she come from?!"_ Tails slammed his feet forward, scraping his heels on the ground. Rouge the Bat simply took a step to the left as Tails glided past her and straight into a tree.

"Woah, where's the fire shorty?" she greeted as Tails rubbed his head.

"What are you doing here?" Tails countered as turned back towards her.

"What's wrong with someone enjoying a nice stroll through the woods an almost getting steamrolled by a dear old friend?"

Tails stood up shaking the numbness out of his head, "I mean you're only G.U.N. in secret. Everyone who doesn't know you thinks you're a criminal. Besides, you're never around unless there's something in it for you."

"Don't you have somewhere to be right now?" Rouge turned and waltzed off. "Nice chatting with you, Tails. I'll be seeing you around sometime soon."

* * *

{}

Tails was nearly out of breath by the time he made his way into Station Square. There was already a massive gathering in the central plaza downtown. The square itself was rather large with a couple of trees dispersed throughout. In front of the steps to cityhall was a hastily built wooden stage with a podium and banner cut in half. However, no city dignitaries stood at his helm, no mayor stood at its podium, and no Sonic waited with his impatient 'you're too slow!' attitude. Tails grew hot with embarrassment.

He looked through the crowd of people. There were a couple of hot dog stands around selling chilli dogs for the occasion, tables with refreshments, and even some children's games set up. "All this just for Sonic?" Tails questioned to himself.

"Tails! Tails!" came a relatively high voice.

As the fox turned to great Amy, she gonked him on the head. Tails winced, "OW! What was that for?!" Just his luck, she hit him right in the same spotwhere he rammed into the tree.

"That's what you get for being late! How on earth could you miss Sonic's big day?! What kind of a best friend are you?" Amy scolded with her hands on her hips and fire in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just overslept is all."

"Overslept? OVERSLEPT?! What kind of an excuse is that?!"

Knuckles finally emerged from the crowd once he heard the ruckus. "Okay, calm down crazy. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Who are you calling crazy, meat hands!"

Soon their quick foray turned into an incoherent babble fest with bickering and incomprehensible nonsense. Tails, on the other hand, slid quietly away into the crowd. "Hey Tails!" called Cream the Rabbit.

"Oh, hey."

"What took you so long? I thought you'd never show up!"

Tails rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Hehe, I guess I just lost track of time."

"Well, in that case, I'm so glad you could make it!" she said as she forced him into a tight, boa-constricting hug.

"Too. Tight. Breath. Air. Must. Need. I'm. Dying."

Cream let go and the color returned back to Tails's blue face as he gasped for air. "Well, that's one way to say hello. Anyway, do you know where Sonic is?"

"Oh, he's over there with a whole bunch of people around him."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later," Tails said as he left the tiny rabbit. He pushed and shoved his way through the small crowd of people.

"-And I was like-" Tails finally made his way to the front where he found him. Sonic was in the midst of delivering the punchline to one of his more crowning stories, "-No Way, Jose! _Hahahah!_ " Unfortunately, no one but the blue hedgehog was laughing. Everyone else kind of just shrugged it off. "- _Ho-Jose_ , get it?" Only his friends ever laughed at the inside joke.

It did earn one chuckle, though. Sonic smiled when he saw his best friend. "Tails! Finally, someone to laugh at all my stupid jokes. Where have you been? I was looking all over for you! I even tried to get them to hold the ceremony."

"Oh, hehe, sorry. Time just got away from me. But, I do have something I wanted to give you," Tails said as he dived into his inventory.

 _[Basic Wrench +0] [Bread (4)] [Chili Dogs (1)] [Empty] [Empty]_

 _[Empty] [Repair Powder (4)] **[Present]** [Empty] [Empty]_

"Here you go," Tails said as he handed Sonic his gift. "It's not much, but it's something." It was a small box with yellow wrapping paper and a tied with a red satin bow.

"I'll be sure to open it later. Thanks!"

"Y-You're not gonna open it?"

"Not now. Things are usually better whenever you have to wait for them."

"Well, it's your present...So...Key to the city?"

"Yeah! Guess fighting Eggman all those times finally paid off. Well, besides saving the world and all," Sonic replied, exaggerated the last few words. "You think those tails would have come in handy for once. I feel bad that you missed it."

"There's always next year, probably."

"Oh, darn, the mayor wants this lame photo thing, _again_. I gotta run, I'll catch you in a little bit!"

* * *

The day dragged on until the sun was finally starting to wain. Most of the people stayed for the first hour then began to lose interest. There were a couple of party-goers that stayed for happy hour which became an event on its own and called for even more celebrating.

However, a certain number of Mobians stayed long after the official party was over. Of course, Ray came back from Tails's house. Amy followed Sonic around like a hawk and Sonic kept Knuckles at his side to ease his sanity. For a time, the twin tailed fox found himself with Vector, Espio, and Charmy who were each, respectively, way too focused on the music, overly energetic, and seemingly disinterested. Then Cream was insistent on hearing about Tails's adventures. Tails was happy to tell her, but most of them turned into what Sonic did and Tails assisted with.

"Cream, if you wouldn't mind, I kinda want to talk to Sonic. I barely saw him today."

"Oh! Sure! You could have just said something!"

The vulpine eagerly walked over to where Sonic was talking to Knuckles and Amy. He desperately wanted to hear Sonic's thoughts on his present.

"-Yeah, you think someone with so many gears in their heads could at least keep track of the time."

Tails stopped outside of the group when he realized that Sonic was talking about him.

"Eh, give the kid a break," Knuckles responded.

"I know, but I swear he'll be late to his own funeral. Maybe if he transferred some of that roto-butt power into brain power, he'd think of a way to go back in time or something. That'd be useful for a change"

The fox could only imagine what the conversation preceding those remarks was like. They trio still didn't spot him. That gave him the perfect opportunity to hang his head low and go home. _"Why did I even bother coming here?"_ Tails thought to himself, _"At least I'd be gettting something done at the shop."_

As he was walking away, Tails was stopped by a certain hedgehog grabbing his shoulder and turned him around. "Hey, come on buddy, why the long face?" Sonic asked his best friend.

"Nothing," Tails shrugged with his arms crossed.

Sonic put his hands on his hips, "That certainly looks like something. Plus, you're a bad liar. Hey Tails, if it's about what I said back there-"

"Maybe."

"-I'm sorry. They're just jokes. _JoOoOoOoOoKes._ I make them about myself all the time! I know I'm not perfect, well except for the 99.9 percent of me that is." Tails did not laugh at his dry humor. "I know, I know, I have a big ego and I'm loud and obnoxious, and I will do _anything_ to not date Amy, but I don't let any of this get me down. Why does Sonic have back pain all the time?"

Tails sighed, "I don't know. Why?"

"Too many _spines!_ "

The fox shook his head, "That's so terrible." Yet, he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I know, I can be such a _prick_. What happens when Sonic isn't around for something. He's out of the loop!"

Tails countered, "What was Sonic sick with? The runs."

"See, it's all in good fun. No one cares. But Tails, you gotta work on your jokes. That last one was _pretty_ bad."

"And the spines one wasn't?"

"Ehhhhh, we'll talk about that one later. And if it makes you feel any better, I talked about you in my speech."

"Really? What did you say?"

"Well, I said _some_ of the stuff I wanted to. But when we get home, I'll tell the rest. In the mean time, just go have fun. You spend too much time in your workshop anyway. Enjoy yourself. Catch ya later!" Sonic waved at him as he made his way back his group.

Tails sighed uneasily. Light-hearted jokes. All in good fun. Sonic's probably right, he can sometimes take things a bit seriously. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, right? _Someone_ around here has to take their job a little seriously. But jokes never hurt anyone. They're supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, right?

 _"Then why this rotten feeling?"_ For some reason, he felt that everything Sonic had said was a little true. Tails _always_ got stuck on the sidelines. All he ever grew to be was just a very, very useful mechanic. Aside from his technical know-how and being the 'brains' of the operation (whatever that's supposed to mean), he just watched Sonic from a distance it seemed like. For once, he wanted to come out on top and be the hero.

Was that bad to want? Was this all just part of his ego? Did it matter _who_ saved the day in the end as long as the _day_ itself was saved? It was something he would sound like a little kid trying to complain or talk about. _"All I want is to just do something for once..."_

Just then, Tails was pulled out of his train of though. "Huh?" he uttered, sensing something was wrong even before seeing it. The sun went completely dead, like a candle flickering out. Tails could feel his heart beating faster. Something was up. He could feel it in the air which grew colder and colder.

Then he saw it.

[]

"Uhhh...guys? Does anyone else see what I'm seeing?" Amy called out nervously.

Sonic simply shook his head and returned back to his elaborate story, "-Anyway, as everyone _but_ me was sucked through time and space-...Knuckles, you there? Everything there upstairs?" The blue hedgehog waved his hands to get his attention but the red echidna was fixated past sonic. Soon, everyone else turned and stood in similar astonishment.

Something lingered in the air far above the fairgrounds. It was a figure concealed by a dark blue cloak with a yellow crest on it. The stranger was very short and unrecognizable as a hood concealed his face. He simply floated there, staring down at the square.

"What do you think? Eggman?" Knuckles inquired.

"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Sonic said firmly as he readied himself to fight. Tails joined alongside him.

Black, menacing clouds immediately glided over the sky as lightning flashed around them. Tails winced. Then he looked back up. It was not possible, it couldn't. For a split second, the figure seemed to be staring directly at him, as if singling him out. Tails felt something strange, as though he was seeing someone familiar.

Then he held up his arm. His hand glowed yellow as a ball of energy surrounded it. It grew larger and larger with each passing second. Then, large magic beams shot out and arced towards the ground. Each exploded with thunderous awe. Buildings collapsed and debris flew.

"Everybody move!" Sonic ordered in vain. The square was in a panic as everyone frantically scattered. The blue hedgehog turned behind him, "Tails, you with me?!"

He wanted to say 'yes.' He wanted to give a thumbs up or a nod or something! But his feet were glued to the cement and his body tensed up. He could not move at all. He looked at Sonic with pleading eyes. Then lightning struck nearby and the unearthly roar made Tails cower in fear.

Sonic shook his head quickly as he sprinted off after the mysterious figure. Knuckles came barreling after Sonic but could only keep up for so long.

The blue blur weaved through the streets. He was gone in seconds.

Another wave of fire rained down. One of the beams exploded in front of him. He went tumbling backwards through the air. Luckily, he planted a foot on the wall of the clock tower and leaped forwards. He rolled into a ball and spiraled across the flat rooftops.

Another wave, except this time, every attack was directed at the blue hedgehog. Sonic weaved around each explosion, unaffected by the flying debris and splinters. He regained his footing and sprinted after the cloaked figure. "Ha, my grandma hits harder than you!" he toyed.

Despite being shrouded, the figure looked...vengeful. Somehow he seemed to show nothing for resentment and anger for everything before him. Then his demeanor changed. He shifted his head back and forth, as though he realized something important at hand.

Just as Sonic drew in on him, the stranger turned and flew away from the fray. "Hey!" Sonic called after him, "Where you going?! We haven't even started!" He rolled back into a ball and gave chase.

The sky was still clouded in darkness. Despite the ensuing chaos, a two tailed fox still stood motionless, petrified. "Tails, what are you doing?!" Knuckles shouted as Amy ran alongside him, "We gotta go!"

"B-B-But what about Sonic?"

"Tails is right!" Amy whined, "We have to go after Sonic!"

Tails went unheard as he continued, "I just stood here a-and he was gone..."

Knuckles shook them off. He knew there would be no way on earth they could catch up to him. "There's nothing we can do, but we have to get out of here!"

Another jolt of lightning pierced the ground not far from where they stood. Tails cowered as tears ran down his cheeks. "I-I can't!"

"Tails!"

"You may be too much of a wimp but I'm going after Sonic!" Amy said definitively.

"Amy!" Knuckles pleaded as she sprinted off after her hopefully future boyfriend. "Dammit!" Knuckles muttered as she ran off. "Tails, we have to go!"

The two tailed fox looked at the echidna, then at the destruction around the square. Buildings were toppled, cars were decimated, and fire flourished throughout the town. They were alone as everyone had already fled in terror. Then Tails looked down to where Sonic had ran off to. In the distance, more golden beams rained down as bright red explosions singed the horizon.

"I just stood there and did nothing..." Tails muttered in disbelief.

"Tails! Now!"

Another lightning bolt called Tails to act. Without thinking, he ran towards Sonic and the impending destruction.

"Are you crazy?!" Knuckles shouted in disbelief.

 _"Stupid, stupid, why did I have to be so stupid?!"_ Tails shouted at himself. Tears still streamed down his face. He blindly turned down unfamiliar streets and crooked passageways.

He slowed to a walk when he realized how lost he really was. "I can't believe that happened...I...I couldn't help him..." He froze again, stuck in an unfamiliar part of town. Everything was dark and desolate. Tails anxiously walked down the barren road. There was not a soul in sight. He was completely alone.

Then something caught the corner of his eye. Tails walked out of the narrow one way street into the larger boulevard, now desolate. In the middle of the lane was a small, yellow box with a blue satin bow. "This is Sonic's present...How did it end up all the way over here?" He put the box back into his inventory. He looked around across the rooftops and through the city streets. "S-Sonic...? Are you out there...?"

"Hey! There he is!" a voice called out. Tails turned around to find several fully geared SWAT agents approaching from further up the street. They were armed with submachine guns and more vans were coming up from behind them.

"Uh oh!" Tails blurted out as he ran. His twin tails spun behind him, propelling him further down the road. _"This is insane! What are they chasing after me for?!"_ Then again, what haven't they chased after him and Sonic for?

At the next intersection, four police bots swerved around the bend. Tails came to a screeching halt and dove down an alley to his right. He had no idea where he was running.

"Hey, over here!" came a familiar voice further down the crooked backstreet. A man hole cover swung open a few feet from him. Without hesitation, Tails performed a slide and fell straight in, closing the cover as he did.

Everything went quiet. He peeked his head just a little out of the lid to look around. A drone sailed slowly down the alley. Tails closed the cover just as the bot turned to inspect the alley. When it saw nothing, it continued on its patrol.

 _I was so scared then. Everything happened so fast that I had no idea what was going on. Who that stranger was and why everyone was after me so suddenly were just two of the mysteries that I would begin to unravel._

 _Despite all that, in a way it was really exciting. I didn't quite know it yet, but I a feeling that this was the beginning of a real adventure!_

* * *

I'm actually a little excited for this story. If you know me, most of my stories are more bleak and serious. I think this could be a refreshing change of pace.

I apologize for now and future events where I have no idea what the lore or "rules" are for the Sonic canon. If you spot anything wrong, please feel free to point it out.

Also, I'm trying to go for a "minimalist" approach. I got this idea from my conversations with _Miles Depth._ "Show, don't tell." Aside from Tails's own narration and thoughts and hugely important points, all character will be expressed through actions. I won't have the "narrator" (me) explicitly stating what a character is going through. However, if you feel I need more descriptions, say in the environment or the fight sequences, let me know.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1: To the Outside World

For this chapter, play "Dim Light (16)." The extended version is preferred.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: To the Outside World**

* * *

Tails climbed down the ladder into a well lit room. He stood on a large platform made of grated metal surrounded by concrete supports. The outer walls of the foyer were made of layered stone. In the center of the circular floor was a large pipe as thick as Tails was tall jutting out from the ground that turned sharply along the ceiling and ran through the wall. Down twenty feet below the platform was a pool of fresh, clear water. To the right of the ladder was a small stairwell at the edge of the platform that led down to a thick pathway with tremendously large pipes on each side of it. There was a certain smell of stingy mildew mixed with the sharpness of chlorine water.

The fox collapsed to his knees, panting and heaving from the running and excitement from before. "That was close," he puffed out as he straightened his back out. To his surprise, Rouge stood before him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I think a simple 'thank you' would be more appropriate," she remarked with her arms crossed.

"Fine, 'thanks,'" Tails relented. "Anyway," he said as his eyes scanned all around the huge, stone room, "Where are we? I've never seen this place before!"

Rouge walked toward the staircase and stood at the edge of the circular platform as she explained, "This is the underground water channel. It pumps fresh water from a spring a few miles outside of town. This is the way I always come into town. An added perk is that everyone just assumes they get their water from refining ocean water. Hardly anyone comes down here."

"So I'm safe here?"

Rouge turned to him, "Safe from what exactly? What was that up there?"

"I don't really know. One second I was trying to catch up to Sonic then the police are chasing after me the next."

"The police? Hmph, usually they're after the other guy."

"Yeah...Rouge. What _are_ you doing here?" As Rouge opened her mouth, Tails jumped on his toes and pointed at her, "And don't lie this time!"

Rouge shook her head, "Fine. I've been tracking an energy source for the past couple of days."

"Like the guy that attacked us today?"

"Not quite. They were fragments; just blimps on a radar. But all of them were slowly getting larger and traveling to a single location, as if they were charging up for something. I've never seen anything like it."

"So...I guess that means that whoever that was can teleport?"

"It's not like that! I was tracking those fragments for almost a week!"

Tails's head hurt from the migraine of thinking about what they would be up against. This story was insane! "Hmm...The only thing I can think of is if he has a chaos emerald. Or worse-"

"He's looking for them," they both say simultaneously.

"And if there's chaos emeralds involved, then it has to be-"

"Eggman. Someone must have paid a fortune to have the police tag you."

Tails felt a wave of fear wash over him, "You think Eggman's after me?"

"I don't know how else the cops could be after a shrimp like you."

"Yeah..." Tails said as he slumped down to the ground. He rested his feet off the platform and lay on his back, staring at the cobblestone ceiling. He breathed heavily and lay there for some time. He numbed his brain by counting the rocks in the ceiling while Rouge was somewhere else behind him. He wanted to just sleep everything off; like this was just all one long, obscure dream. But he could not even keep his eyes closed. "Hey Rouge...Something else doesn't seem right," he muttered. It was almost as though he whispered, like how one would confess a secret.

"Hmm?"

"When he, or...whoever, first showed up, he looked straight at me."

"I'm sure you thought so. You were scared."

"I could feel him single me out, like he knew me. Even though I couldn't see his face, I swear I saw him somewhere before. Rouge, what should I do?"

Rouge turned and prepared to walk back towards the ladder, "You want my advice? Stay here. Lay low, no one will find you."

"But what about everyone else?"

"I'm sure everything's covered," she said as she began to walk away.

The twin tailed fox shot to his feet. "I'm going," Tails said assertively.

"And where would that be," she said as she stopped walking and faced him.

"I'm going to find the chaos emeralds and stop Eggman."

Rouge gave a short chuckle, "I don't mean to bring your ego down, Lancelot, but I don't think you know what you're getting into. You don't strike me as the hero type."

"I don't care! Sonic's out there, Knuckles's out there, and even _you're_ here! And what am I doing to help? Nothing. I'm going and there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

The bat smirked and crossed her arms, "Hmm, I guess there's not much I can say in the matter. If you're so set on going, I have something to give you." She walked to the other edge of the platform and lifted one of the stones in the ground. "I always have a few stashes in case I need anything in a pinch," she called back as she fiddled around with the contents inside.

[You can find _Rouge's Stashes_ in certain levels. Just press X to unlock them.]

She ran back to the twin-tailed fox who was impatiently sitting on the edge of the stairs, tapping his foot in the ground, and holding his head in his hands. He stood up and was stunned. "Here," she motioned as she held out the object, "I want you to have it."

In the palm of her hand was an old, Mauser Pistol. The receiver was a square metal box with a fixed magazine well in front of the trigger. The handle was wooden and looked almost like the end of a broom, which hardly seemed to fit on such a weapon. The thin barrel extended long past the edge of the bolt. "It's dangerous out there, especially in the sewers. You don't know what you could run into down here."

"A-Are you sure?" Tails replied timidly, "I'm scared of guns and I-I-I-"

"Take it already."

Reluctantly, Tails accepted the slender handgun.

[ _Antique Pistol_ has been added to your inventory.]

"Good luck out there, shorty," Rouge remarked as she began to saunter towards the ladder back to the streets above, "You're going to need it."

"Aren't you coming along?"

She turned back to reply, "Sorry kid, but I've got work of my own I need to do. I think we'll run into each other again soon anyway." With that, she ascended the ladder into Station Square and left Tails alone.

The young fox inhaled sharply then walked to the edge of the platform and looked towards the imposing entrance-way into the channel. The walkway, with its daunting pipes on both sides and seemingly endless expanse that pushed further into the darkness, was more imposing than ever before.

He closed his eyes. "Come on Tails, everyone's counting on you. Just this once, be the hero you were meant to be." He opened them, leaped down the steps, and made his way deep into the underground water channel.

 _I had thought about what Rouge had said, about Eggman and the chaos emeralds. But it felt like something else was going on; something much bigger than any of us realized._

 _Find the seven chaos emeralds and save the world: that was my journey. I didn't even know if this had anything TO do with them. But I knew that my adventure would take me farther than I've ever gone before. So many things to explore and places I haven't seen. Right then, I wanted to see them all._

* * *

Sorry this one's so short, but I felt like getting this out there. The other ones will be longer and with more content. This one's kind of slow.

All of the "Chapters" will probably be broken up into two parts except for the very, very later ones. This, besides the prologue, is one of the shortest.

Let me know what you think so far.


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